Turbine airfoils, outer air seals, and various other engine components operate in an environment where gas temperatures often exceed the thermal capacity of materials in the engine. These parts may utilize cooling features to protect against damage. Cooling air from the compressor can be routed to provide internal convection cooling within airfoils, for example. However, more cooling air bled from the compressor and used for cooling means less gas is available for work extraction. Thus, engine efficiency may be reduced if higher amounts of cooling air are consumed. As demands increase for higher thrust and/or efficiency, the turbine inlet temperatures are increased while the gas allocated for cooling is reduced.
Some components may implement air cooling systems with a series of internal cavities to cool a part. Skin cores, for example, are internal cooling passages near the external surfaces of a component. The internal passages of the skin cores may have cooling features throughout the passages to increase heat transfer. However, flat wall check locations lacking cooling features are also formed in the passages to allow for wall thickness checks. The flat wall check locations typically reduce cooling effectiveness.